masks
by worldoffire
Summary: Ino has always worn a mask, whether fake or real; though, throughout all her years of hiding, she never thought someone would uncover her.
1. Chapter 1

Damn it. I started out with a clear idea of how I wanted to write this, and then somewhere along the way I lost it and it became this. Oh well. At least I'm over my writer's block. Enjoy. c:

Disclaimer: Nope. Don't own.

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People never do focus on Ino as much as they focus on the others—the boys, with their flashy strengths and sharp minds that don't miss a thing, the determination to never give up and how far they've all come from their Academy days. They see the other girls, too: Sakura, with chakra-enhanced super strength and healing abilities, both learned from her Sannin sensei; Hinata, with her all-seeing Byakugan and rarely-seen, but always there, steel courage; and Tenten, with her amazing mastery of weapons that outranks the knowledge of most of Konoha. They see Ino, too, but not the same way: they see blond hair and blue eyes and a blindingly white smile, perfect for seduction missions, luring men into bedrooms; but not for much else, they think, because all they see is the outside, not the inside, what she hides because she's never seen any reason to bring it out, even as she's ignored. The other girls used to do the same, though they possessed strength in abundance; and then they realized that if they brought out their strength, people would pay as much attention to them as they do their male counterparts.

While Ino had realized that as well, she just never did the same. She let people keep thinking she was just a bubblehead seductress, nothing more, even though she's good and knows it: she's one of the best in the clan at utilizing the mind transfer technique. She knows a variety of jutsu and uses them, too, unlike most of the force, because while all shinobi and kunoichi learn a variety, same as her, most tend to find a few that they like and primarily use those, making them easy to identify; she prefers to switch between many, making it a challenge to figure out who she is. She's also a torture and interrogation specialist; she'd started at fourteen and gotten good quickly. Only a handful of people know that she works there, though, because few ever see her there. Her father knows, as do Ibiki and Anko, along with a couple of ANBU who work there. While they're not required to keep the fact of her occupation quiet, they do because she's asked them to; she doesn't want people to know, because she likes the semi-double life she lives. On one hand, she's Yamanaka Ino, bubblehead blond who loves shopping and doesn't seem to be worth a damn when it comes to fighting; and on the other, she's Yamanaka Ino, torture and interrogation specialist who knows how to get her information, who hides herself with the mask of her other persona.

She likes being known as a bubblehead blond: that's why people never suspect her of being a good fighter, because her name isn't well-known like the others' are, and so they don't know that they should be wary of her until it's too late and she's going in for the kill. It's a mask to hide behind, her other personality, something to hide her true face like an ANBU mask, like the mask she dons from the day of her eighteenth birthday, when they approach her to ask her to join them.

They talk to her, tell her all they can of being an ANBU; and when they finish, she feels like laughing, because it's just the same as she's always done, only it's for a job instead of being a choice; hiding your true self behind a mask, not letting people see the power below the surface. Most of ANBU aren't well-known shinobi and kunoichi; no, they're unnoticed by most but very talented, unknown because people favor the obvious power, not the subtle. It won't be much of a change if she says yes, just a change from an invisible mask to a corporeal one; and she'd be among people who know how she lives.

She goes home the next morning with a red spiral on her right shoulder, a bag with a black bodysuit, white armor, and a porcelain mask with the face of a mouse, and orders to be at ANBU headquarters the next morning at seven for her first assignment.

She knows she won't tell her friends and family about joining the ANBU; there would be questions, too many, that she could answer easily but wouldn't want to at all. The only person she could ever imagine telling is her father; but, of course, he died in the Fourth Shinobi World War, fighting Obito and Madara, and as such she'll tell nobody. It will be her own little secret.

She does, though, sit down and pull out her new mask, white porcelain enhanced with chakra, to keep Byakugan eyes from seeing through and identifying the agent it hides. She's officially one of them, one of the élite of Konoha, and she's happy, incredibly so. She's recognized, even if only by a few for her own face; and she will be recognized as dangerous with this mask over her face. They'll see the mask of the élite, covering the blue eyes and blindingly white smile that together make people dismiss her as nothing; and they'll know to be wary of the person behind it.


	2. Chapter 2

Hellooo, I'm back again with this, and a nice long chapter, too, with a bit of a timeskip and plenty of stuff happening. I've had two people suggest ideas for continuing this, and as this story hasn't been out of my mind much since writing it, I'll be making it into a full story. Can't promise updates will be too frequent, as I tend to get random writer's block, but I'll do my best. Also, I've changed the summary/characters, if you've not noticed yet. Enjoy. c:

P.S. To the lovelies who reviewed/favorited, you're all brilliant and thank you for the kind words. c:

Disclaimer: Still don't own.

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She doesn't sleep that night.

Tomorrow's her first day on the job as an agent of the ANBU Black Ops; she wonders if she'll be up to scratch, on par with the rest of the members. She knows she's good, but she doesn't know if she's good enough; they obviously do, or else they wouldn't have recruited her, but she doesn't seem to have the same confidence in her abilities.

Six, when the sun rises and she should, too, comes far too quickly for her liking. She's only slept in small snatches, a few minutes here and there, and she's more exhausted than she's ever been in her life. With any luck, after today is over and she's had her first day, the nerves will let up; but today, it seems she'll be running on stored-up energy, maybe a soldier pill or three if she needs it.

She showers, staying under the spray of hot water a shorter time than she usually does. She's not sure how long it will take her to get into the bodysuit, to fasten her armor properly, so she's cutting her morning rituals short. She applies no makeup; there's no point in it, she'll be wearing a mask, and besides, even if she does take it off, she doesn't think ANBU kunoichi normally wear much makeup anyways, and she wouldn't want to stand out more than she most likely already will. Her hair reaches down to her waist now, and she pulls it up and ties it into a knot atop her head to keep it out of her face. Finally, she retrieves a necklace from the drawer in her bathroom and fastens it around her neck. It's a small, heart-shaped locket with a sapphire, her birthstone, in the middle; inside is a picture of her and father. He'd given it to her on her sixteenth birthday, only a few months before the war started, and it's now one of her most treasured possessions.

It's only after all of this is done that she turns her attention to the neat pile in the armchair that sits by her window. She pulls the bodysuit from the bottom of it, and starts to slide it on. It fits perfectly, conforming to every curve of her body, and is easier to get into than she though. The armor is trickier, with the many pieces, but still doable. She straps on the pieces over her calves; then her breastplate; and finally the arm protectors. She laces up her boots, pulls on gloves, and reaches for the final touch of her uniform: her mask. It's the face of a mouse—somehow fitting, she thinks; they're always there, but never seen, like her, like the ANBU as a whole—and today, every day of the foreseeable future, it is her own.

Finally ready, she retrieves her small knapsack and slings it over her back—it contains the bare mission essentials, meaning soldier pills, a katana, bandages—and flips out of her window and onto the roof. The sun is rising behind the Hokage monument, and that is the direction in which she looks. Hidden nearby the five stone faces, there is a large compound hidden by genjutsu; the headquarters of the ANBU. She performs a genjutsu of her own so that she seems invisible, and sets off.

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When she arrives, there is an agent awaiting her. A woman, she thinks, because of the long hair; it's a lovely shade of dark purple, and the mask that covers her face is that of a cat.

The woman motions to her to follow and turns to walk into the building. "Come on. I'll give you the grand tour, and then down to the captain for assessment and then assignment. Call me Cat, by the way; everyone here just goes by what their animal is. So, welcome to the ANBU Black Ops, Mouse."

She follows the agent, Cat, into the building. It's huge, and from the looks of the outside, it has to be at least three stories high. Just this first floor has soaring ceilings, with a platform, halfway up the wall and running the length of three walls, that's lined with doors leading who knows where. If she makes it here, if she survives, she'll know this building by heart someday. Other ANBU are standing around: leaning against walls studying papers, lounging on the couches (which seems odd to her; she never knew that the ANBU took breaks), and talking to one another through masks. This one floor is absolutely huge, littered with couches and chairs, small tables and large ones. She assumes it's a break area, somewhere they can go to rest between missions, because she's fairly sure a good number stay here at the headquarters in small rooms if they so choose to. She'll be staying at her own house near the rest of the clan, the one she grew up in with her father, but she can see the sense in staying close to the workplace, especially being ANBU; you never know when you might have to go on a mission, be ready in moments.

Cat gestures to the room she's been examining as a whole. "This is the break area, since quite a few agents of the ANBU live here instead of with the rest of the village. They can stay in their rooms, sure, but it's always nice to have socialization." She points upwards to the doors that line the upper part of the wall, where the platform is, and the ones that are on the ground part of the floor, where they are. "Those doors, they lead to little rooms for the agents who stay here, mostly. A few lead to different things, like the storeroom is there, where they keep extra uniforms, street clothing, and weapons; another, that one, leads to the medical office, since we have our own for minor injuries, so that we don't clog up the normal shinobi hospital; and that one there leads to the captain's office. The training rooms are all down those stairs, so that there are nice, high ceilings and wide rooms to bounce about in." She's been pointing at doors as she speaks, and Ino memorizes where those three rooms, and the staircase, are specifically. They're important, and she'll need to know them.

"Now, come on. The captain's office is next; assessment and assignment, as I said. It's your first day, so it won't be anything too hard; maybe some guard duty, I think he might have said. That's what I had on my first day." She starts walking in the direction of the captain's door, and Ino follows; she's almost as tall as Cat, and keeps up easily.

Cat knocks three times, and just after the third, a voice, male, says to enter. She and Cat do; it's a spacious office, with bookshelves and chairs, a desk and, of course, the captain himself. He dons a hawk mask, and is currently signing a paper. He finishes a loopy scrawl, and then pushes the paper to the side and looks up fully. He motions for Ino to sit, and she does; Cat merely leans against the wall.

"So, you're Mouse, the new one." He looks her up and down, the only person here who knows who she is behind this mask. He knows what she can do, and she knows nothing about him, doesn't even know if she can trust him, ANBU captain or not.

For some reason, she's perfectly okay with that; and it disturbs her.

"Okay." He pulls a paper from one of the stacks on his left side, looking it over briefly before handing it to her. "Guard duty, something simple; Cat will be with you, since I've assigned her as your ANBU mentor—"

"Did you actually say that to me, or is it one of those orders you made up your mind on and then forgot to tell whoever it was about?" Cat's tone is joking, and Ino assumes this is some old joke about the ANBU's captain.

"That second one, Cat, you know I do that at least once a day. Anyways, Mouse, you'll be on guard duty as I said, with Cat, Crow, and Bear. Anyways, off you two go; Cat, you know where to meet them."

Cat motions to her, and Ino rises and follows, folding the paper and placing it in her knapsack. They walk out of the headquarters and start running in the trees; she thinks they're heading for somewhere near the Hokage's office, though she's not sure.

"Told you it'd be something easy. Crow and Bear are good; they've worked with rookies before as well. Also, since I'm apparently your ANBU mentor now—by the way, that basically means I'll be showing you the ropes until you get the hang of it, so we'll be together a lot for at least the next couple weeks—we'll be on the same team every day for a while. Teams change like the weather, though, so don't get too used to it. Barely anyone has a permanent partner or team."

She nods, and then remembers Cat can't see her. "Okay. Anything else I need to know?"

"Nope, that should be it. And we're here now, so you can release that genjutsu; we'll be in the trees, so no need." She can almost hear the smirk that's undoubtedly on Cat's face. Hers reddens briefly beneath the mask; she'd forgotten all about it. Cat, and the captain, must be able to see through genjutsu; otherwise, they'd not have been talking to her. She releases it as they step down from the trees, and Crow and Bear come into view.

They both say hello, greetings, the usual between friendly shinobi; and then the four of them shoot off into the trees.

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When she returns home that night, she's even more exhausted than she was this morning, but also exhilarated beyond belief.

Her first mission, supposedly easy, just guard duty, had turned into a full chase of some missing-nin that were attempting to attack Konoha. They'd split into two teams, one her and Cat, the other Bear and Crow, and circled about, caging them in. Now, they're securely locked up in the jail, and she's been initiated, at least partially, into the everyday activities of the ANBU. They'd all had dinner afterwards, at ANBU headquarters, and Bear had clapped her on the shoulder and said that, for a rookie, she wasn't so bad.

She's still pleased by that, and now, where the bundle of nerves had been, is a ball of excitement that can't wait for tomorrow, the next mission, the next chase. She strips off her uniform, the armor, all of it, and falls into bed; she's tired, and she'll need her sleep for tomorrow.

Before falling asleep, though, she lies on her back and looks up at her ceiling, a smile on her face. After today, she feels like she's found where it is she belongs; among the insanity of ANBU, she feels at home.

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_two months later_

She knocks on the open door of the captain's office, finding him sitting behind the desk, reading reports as he waits for her to arrive. He looks up and motions for her to enter and sit, placing the papers face down on his desk.

"You can take off your mask if you'd like; you won't need it for a while, nor will you need your uniform. They've requested me to send you over to Torture and Interrogation to assist in an interrogation; they wouldn't tell me who, so I can't reveal that, but I believe that it is a citizen of Konoha they've brought in for a check; however, they're having issues, so they requested you, Ino, for your Yamanaka abilities. You'll be able to do more than they can." He shuffles through a stack of papers on his desk, mission reports and summaries and contracts, and pulls a sheet out for her. "This is the description of it; you're to go on over there as soon as possible, so now, if you've got nothing else to stop and do. They don't need you immediately, so you might want to get something to eat on your way, as I don't know how long they'll need you there. You'll be on that mission for an undetermined amount of time, though it is ranked for the ANBU, so it'll be on this time and pay. Simply report there until it's finished."

She nods. "Understood. Do I need to submit reports on this, or will the normal T&I staff handle it?"

"They'll handle it. Also, it's Room 56 that you'll report to there, at least today. That should be all the details, right?"

"Yes, sir." She nods again, and turns to leave for her home; she'll need street clothing, obviously, and he'd said it wouldn't be a bad idea to get food as well.

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It's about thirty minutes until she reaches the T&I building; looking up at it, she smiles faintly. This is where they originally found her, the ANBU. The ones who worked here mentioned her to the captain, and he'd pulled her records, had her watched for a while, and finally deemed her worthy of joining. And now here she is, a two-month veteran of the ANBU Black Ops, which, while a short time normally, is long in the ANBU. Most people don't go a month before going insane and dropping out; so, it seems she's there to stay, for better or for worse.

She walks in, nodding to the secretary behind the desk, and then heading down the hall to Room 56. She knocks, one, two, three times.

"Enter," comes a voice; Ibiki's, she thinks. She opens the door and does so; then stops cold, upon seeing the person in the chair, the one being interrogated for whatever reason.

"Sasuke," she whispers.


	3. Chapter 3

Oh yay new chapter! I made an adjustment to the last chapter, took out a whole paragraph, because I just couldn't write using that history. This chapter has the history for this fic I'll be using, as it flows much better than the other one did; I think that may have been part of the reason I haven't been able to write for this fic, because I couldn't make the history work. Also, ew it's kinda short, but, hey, at least it's a chapter, right? Enjoy. c:

By the way sorry for the wait, damned writer's block wouldn't let me write.

Disclaimer: I own an ANBU mask, but not Naruto.

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Ino simply stands there in the doorway, staring at Uchiha Sasuke.

It's been five months since the war ended; four and a half since he was granted citizenship, at least partial, of Konoha again. She's seen him around town a few times, in the market, on the streets, usually accompanied by either Sakura or Naruto, or one of the three who came with him, whose names she doesn't know; they were granted citizenship as well, just a few days after the village settled back to normal, and as far as she knows, they're active shinobi. She's not sure if Sasuke is, though; she's not seen him in full uniform, though that's no way to judge that. She didn't pay much attention to the other shinobi receiving assignments before she joined ANBU, and of course being in ANBU she wouldn't see him at all.

She definitely didn't know that he was being mentally examined, though. Whenever she's seen him, he hasn't looked insane or unstable, despite what a few rumours say. He's looked plenty stable, happy, even. She actually saw him smile, once, something she'd never seen before: he'd been standing in the produce market, picking out tomatoes, Sakura and Naruto on either side, and Naruto talking, about what she didn't know. It was brief, only a few seconds in length, but she'd had no doubt that it was a smile.

What she did doubt, though, was the spark of happiness in her chest upon seeing that smile. She'd left behind the girl she used to be years ago, the girl who fawned over Sasuke's every move and word, the girl who, now that she looked back on it, was just a bit embarrassing to remember being. That was why she doubted that so intensely; she'd promised herself upon realizing just who she used to be that she would never be that way again, and while a simple spark was barely anything, she'd also promised herself something else: if Sasuke was ever to come back, he was off limits. Entirely so.

"Ino!"

She sways slightly from her frozen position upon hearing the burst of noise from Ibiki. He looks a bit concerned; she must have been deeper in thought than she believed herself to be. "Um. Sorry, sir. Yes?"

"I've been trying to get your attention for the last two minutes; never mind that, though, we need to begin, as there's a S-Rank criminal being brought in by the ANBU in twenty minutes and I'll be needed for that interrogation. Come over here and I'll run you through the details that weren't covered in the paper you were given."

She walks over to the small desk in the corner, her eyes flicking briefly to Sasuke. In that moment, she does register that he's not cuffed to the chair, so he must not be considered a threat; that may have been why they called for her, as torture, while an efficient method on criminals, is usually discouraged in the case of citizens unless they are suspected of treason or something of the sort and it is needed to extract information. While there are a few non-Yamanaka shinobi who can get into a person's head and read at least some thought and memory, they're all ANBU captains (she's seen them around headquarters a few times, donning the slightly different captain uniform) and extremely busy; it's much easier to simply call for a Yamanaka.

Ibiki leans against the wall; she remains straight-backed. "This isn't anything big, I'd like to tell you; he's not suspected of anything. We're simply ensuring that his mental status is stable, over the course of most likely only the next two weeks, unless complications rise up and it takes longer, so that he can be restored to full shinobi status. They'd like to go ahead and perhaps put him into the ANBU, but, of course, they'd like to know he's completely mentally stable before doing so. That's why we're here. You'll not need to do much, and these sessions won't be long; over the course of the two weeks, our job is to ensure that he has no lingering ideas of any harm to Konoha or the citizens. It's doubted that there are, but, obviously, they'd like to have us check that completely before promoting him. I'm not entirely sure why we can't do this all in one session, but it's not my job to know that, I suppose."

She nods. "So, today, just a normal run-through, check for any thoughts of harm, the normal for a shinobi mental check-up. Got it."

He nods at her, and remains leaning; she supposes he's just here to supervise, nothing more. She grabs a chair from the side of the desk and walks it over to Sasuke; setting it down and sitting in it, she faces him.

Her voice is low when she speaks. "I'm going to run you through what I'm going to do, just so there's no confusion or misunderstandings. They'd like for me to do a normal shinobi mental check-up; ensure there's no thoughts of treason, harm to Konoha, and the like. I'm simply going to use a Yamanaka jutsu to, in a way, read your mind. That's not actually possible, of course, as one cannot simply read thoughts as if they're etched onto a skull, but it serves its purpose well enough. It's not the mind-transfer jutsu; I won't be taking control. You'll be in full control of your mind; I'll just be... wandering it, I suppose that's a good enough description. Okay?"

He nods, once. "It's understood, yes. Whenever you're ready."

She closes her eyes, folds her hands into a seal, and everything goes black.

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Two hours later, she lets herself into her small apartment in the south of Konoha, walks into her living room, and flops face down on her couch.

Using a mental jutsu always makes her tired. She doesn't know why, but it's always been that way. She doesn't move at all, and it doesn't take up all that much chakra, so she's not sure why she's always so exhausted afterwards. It's one of those mysteries of nature, she supposes.

She turns onto her back, folding her arms over her stomach and closing her eyes. The mental exam had gone well; Sasuke hadn't resisted at all, which she'd been surprised to find. As much as he was… well, Sasuke, she'd thought he'd have more resistance to someone wandering his thoughts. He'd simply let her do what she needed to, though, and she had. There'd been no thoughts of treason. No, his thoughts had been almost… pure; or, as pure as a shinobi's thoughts could be, anyways.

She'd not been surprised by that. She doesn't know why they needed to do this for two weeks, though; wasn't one enough? Oh, well. As Ibiki had said, it wasn't his job to know that, and it wasn't hers, either. She leans off of her couch slightly and retrieves a blanket from under her coffee table. She slings it over herself and turns on her side, facing the couch. She doesn't feel like walking the distance, however short, to her bed, so this is where she'll sleep for the night.

Closing her eyes, she sees only black, and is reminded for an instant of entering someone's mind. It doesn't last long, though; within minutes she's asleep, and dreaming.


	4. Chapter 4

Look! A chapter!

Um. So, you're all going to pretend it hasn't been forever and enjoy this chapter like it was posted only days after the last one, right? Gosh I'm sorry, I'm bad at this updating stuff. :c This is a timeskip to four days after the last chapter's end, by the way; it's her fifth day at T&I. It's a bit short, a bit filler, but I needed to do a kind of filler chapter in order to set everything up for next chapter. I think I finally know where I'm going with this.

Also a big big thanks to all who have reviewed/favorited/followed since my last update. c: Enjoy this chapter! C:

Disclaimer: I have a headache, but no Naruto.

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She props her sandaled feet on the table in the break room, sipping at the cup in her hand and rifling through the papers that sit in her lap, stark white against the deep blue of her pants. Her bracelet, a silver loop around her left wrist, clacks against her wrist bones as she looks through the files, hidden under her white long-sleeved shirt. They're ones given to her by ANBU's captain, detailing known upcoming missions that she can take on once her stint here at Torture and Interrogation is finished. While a good number of ANBU's missions are spur of the moment ones, made as fast as information flows in from spies and other informants, there are quite a few that are also planned ahead of time, given an amount of thought and planning before the members are sent off.

Ino prefers the spur of the moment ones, herself; she couldn't ever really explain it, but there's a certain thing about it. The rush of not knowing exactly what you're going into, that something unexpected could happen at any time, any moment; she loves it. The adrenaline flowing through her body and her heart pounding hard is something that just can't be replicated; at least, not with anything she's ever experienced.

She pauses in her flipping of the papers, her interest caught by one of the missions. It's long term, and a long way away as well, starting a month, a week and two days from today. It's undercover, requiring a female and male agent to pose as a married couple in a town suspected to be involved with some unsavory activities; they're to investigate without drawing attention to themselves, and if proof of any illicit activity is discovered, any known participants are to be subdued and returned to Konoha, with help from backup during transport.

Ino's not truly sure why, couldn't explain it if asked, but this particular mission appeals to her. It just seems very… _her_, somehow. She pulls out that particular mission detail and folds in half, then folds it again, tucking it into her pocket. She replaces the rest of them in the folder before her, and then stores it in her purple duffle bag. She zips it and slings it over her shoulder, scraping the legs of her chair over the floor as she pushes it back to allow room to stand; she needs to be down in Room 56 in a few minutes. Reaching up to fix the messy knot that her hair is secured into, she walks out of the break room and turns left down the hall.

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_Ten days later_

She's sitting on the couch next to Yuugao when he walks in.

They're chatting about missions they've been on recently, about the people they've worked with, whether they liked them or not. Neither of them have their masks on, and they're in day clothes: both of them barefoot, with long pants and short-sleeved shirts on. She's got a bandage wrapped around her left ankle, and Yuugao has a cast on her left leg; they've both been injured recently, and while most of the damage has already been healed by the medics, both of them were told to stay away from any activities that could lead to straining their muscles: basically, bed rest. It's two more days for her, five for Yuugao, and they've been passing the time here in headquarters; though Ino has an apartment, moved into a month after joining ANBU, and Yuugao has a house, out to the west, it would strain the muscles in their legs to make the trip from their respective residencies to headquarters.

Yuugao's been talking about the mission she broke her leg on for the last five minutes: she and three others (Bear, Tiger, and Panda) had been chasing down a target, one who was wanted for the murder of five ANBU. They'd thought it would go easily, especially with four of them, and they were wrong; he'd known they were coming, tipped off by somebody, and was waiting with a defense force. While they'd broken through his private guard, he'd gotten away, and she'd been the one to follow him; in the ensuing chase, she'd managed to get her leg caught around a vine, and the way it twisted had broken it.

She's been simultaneously listening to her friend's story and watching the room, observing her fellow ANBU; and just as Yuugao takes a breath to talk about their return, he walks in, flanked by two ANBU (Crow and Bear, funnily; two of the first four people she'd met here). He's dressed in ANBU uniform, minus the mask, though that's held loosely in his left hand (she can't see all of it, but from what she can see, it's a hawk). He and Crow and Bear make the walk over to the captain's office, knocking one, two, three times on the heavy oak door.

Yuugao notices she's not listening anymore just as they. She snaps her fingers by Ino's ear twice. "Ino?" She follows Ino's eyes and hers land on the same three people. "What the hell? Ino… is that Uchiha Sasuke?"

He and Crow and Bear disappear into the captain's office as she answers, pulling the door closed behind them. She swallows. "Yeah. Yeah, it is."


	5. Chapter 5

Guess who's baaaack!

God, I suck, I suck so so so much. I know it's not much of an excuse, but life's been crazy—my family's been having financial issues and I'm back in school and it's all just utterly hectic. I'm sorry it's been so long. It's finally calming down, though, so I'm back! I proudly present to you today's (well, tonight for me) chapter. This is two days after the end of the last. I'm oh so sorry if it sucks, I'm trying to get back into the swing of this story, and so this is necessary, sadly. :c O know it's short but I needed to go ahead and cover all of this time, so I did a lot of skipping around.

Also, I'd like to thank all of you who have reviewed or favorited or followed since my last update, you're all fabulous; and any of you who are still with me, you're fabulous as well.

Disclaimer: Nope. Still no Naruto ownership.

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She can't stop thinking about him.

She doesn't know why, can't explain it; hell, she thought she left that part of her far, far back, the part of her mind that obsessed over boys and fantasized things that would never happen and was oh, oh so immature. She realizes that now, looking back, and she has it fixed firmly in her mind that such things aren't for her—she should be thinking of things far away from that, of ANBU missions and how the clan is doing and hoping that her cousin's leadership isn't terrible (when her father died in the war, she officially assumed the position of clan head and held it until she went into the ANBU, at which point she passed it to her cousin).

But still, she can't get Uchiha Sasuke out of her head, and that could prove to be very, very dangerous.

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It's still a few days before she gets assigned to a team with him, though—they switch up patrol teams every once in a while, maybe every three or four months, and this time she gets assigned with three members she's never worked with before—Owl, Sheep, and Eagle. She doesn't recognize Owl or Sheep as anyone she would know outside of ANBU, but she knows that the face behind that eagle mask is that of Sasuke; she recognizes the hair, the dark blue, almost black colour, the spiky style, the way it sticks up in the back. His air, too, is familiar: charged with electricity and solid and strong, just like Sasuke himself.

They don't talk much among themselves, of course; it's patrol, and the point is to be quiet, not to make noise so that if any enemies are nearby they won't be alerted to the presence of ANBU members. Their only communication is through hand signals, a code indecipherable by anyone who hasn't learned it. It's part of the ANBU initiation—you have to learn it, and then pass an examination proving that you know the signs, backwards and forwards. It's the kind of thing that, if messed up, could cost lives, so they put heavy emphasis on it while it's being learned.

It goes smoothly, no interruptions for the whole eight hours they're out there, and then the next team comes to relieve them and they're off to their homes until ANBU calls for them again. When she gets home, she kicks off her boots and strips off her armor as she walks through her apartment, pulling off the last piece as she reaches her room.  
She reaches for shorts and a shirt and pulls them on, lets her hair down, and falls right into bed.

.

.

A week later, she discovers that she will, in fact, get to go on the undercover mission that had interested her a few weeks ago. She also discovers who she'll be working with; and, as fate would have it, of course, it's Sasuke. (Sometimes, she wonders if the powers that be are conspiring against her.) It'll all be fine, she tells herself—it's a mission, undercover, pretend. The part of her (however small) that's been slightly obsessing over Sasuke as of late could actually come in handy, since they are supposed to be posing as a couple. She just hopes they'll be able to pull it off—whoever's heading up the activity they're being sent to investigate must either be powerful him- or herself, have powerful lackeys, or both, since it's ANBU being sent and not jonin, which is the rank that would normally handle cases like this—because if they don't they could very possibly be looking at fighting for their lives, and after the war, she's not fond of it at all, despite her position. It brings back memories, too many, too bad, and she despises that.

The next two weeks pass without much event—she and Sasuke do work together quite a few times, though, more than two members would normally get paired together, which makes her wonder if it's purposeful (which it probably is). Two more members whom she doesn't recognize join them, and three members are hospitalized for an indeterminate amount of time, due to severe injuries on a mission. She's not sure who it is, since she hadn't been around to hear the news originally announced, but she makes sure to send flowers anyway.

The days seem to slip by faster, and the mission approaches more quickly all the time, it seems. She starts getting called in to be shown the usual style of dress and the mannerisms of the town she'll be going to, so that she can fit in easily, and she begins to pack her bags with all of the things she deems important: civilian clothing, since that's the typical style there, with a few ANBU uniforms thrown in; the necklace from her father; two pictures, one of her and the rest of the Konoha Twelve (taken during the time when they were only eleven in number) and one of her and her parents. She packs weapons, kunai and swords and senbon, and poisons, and food pills.

Finally, though, the day arrives and she sets off towards the west, her bag across her back and Uchiha Sasuke at her side.


End file.
